Disequilibrium

Question

My husband has been having dizzy spells and disequilibrium for a long time.  He has regular dizziness sometimes, but most of the time he says it feels like there's a gyroscope in his head that is being pushed the wrong way.  Sometimes, when he moves his head or eyes in a certain way, he gets a wave of severe sickness, not so much actual vertigo and nausea, but the gyroscope feeling mentioned above.  Then he feels very exhausted.  He has an old gunshot wound that took off the top of his ear, but every doctor has ruled this out as a cause of his disequilibrium.  He has been through all the vestibular testing and exercises, which do not help much.  Last week, he had an MRI which showed an enlarged blood vessel pressing on a nerve on one side of his brain.  I don't have any details regarding this yet. The doctor said that there is not much that can be done.  My husband is so miserable that he's becoming severely depressed.  He also drives for a living and feels that he may not be able to do that for much longer.  HIs episodes are short lived right now, but they affect his quality of life very much.  Has anyone else ever heard of these symptoms?  I would be so grateful to get some guidance.

Beezi · Answer

Thanks very much for your answers.  His MRI revealed an enlarged blood vessel in his middle ear that is pressing on a nerve.  I appreciate the time you spent to give us some ideas.

anuragsrivastava · Answer

Hi, It sounds like he is suffering from Arterio-venous malformation (AVM) that is a congenital anomaly in which an abnormal connection between arteries and veins in brain can occur. Therefore, common symptoms could be headache, dizziness, feeling of abnormal sensation, difficulty in performing daily activities and vertigo. Though there is no sure success treatment, but symptomatic treatment may provide some relief in recurring symptoms. Embolization that is cutting of the blood supply may provide some relief in small AVMs but still not a proven therapy. I would suggest you to meet your treating doctor for symptomatic treatment option in your case. Hope this helps.

theasian · Answer

have they considered something wrong in the middle ear? disequilibrium/dizziness usually points to that because that's what controls it within the body